Top Stories of 2012: Hurricane Sandy batters the region

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, a rainbow appears as a Santa-dressed Michael Sciaraffo leaves the home of Ella Sampol, 14 months, after bringing her a toy in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

NORRISTOWN — While some of the damage brought on by Hurricane Sandy can still be seen in parts of New York and New Jersey, much of the devastation brought on by the so-called “Frankenstorm” in Pennsylvania, including Montgomery County, has since been remedied.

The superstorm, which was 1,000 miles across at its peak, first crept toward Pennsylvania overnight on Sunday, Oct. 28. The full brunt of the storm hit Montgomery County the next day, when it leveled trees and knocked out power for more than 175,000 PECO customers in the area.

A 90-year-old woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning in an Upper Merion condominium because of an emergency generator located in the garage of the building, located below her residence.

Because of the devastation caused by the storm, the region was forced to essentially shut down on both Monday, Oct. 29, when the storm was beginning to ravage the area, and Tuesday, Oct. 30, when cleanup work could begin. School districts around the area were also closed, with the Upper Merion Area School District being the first local district to cancel school for both days.

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“We didn’t take or make any decisions lightly,” Superintendent Jane Callaghan said at the November school board meeting when explaining the decision-making process of the district during the storm.

Although the schools were closed during the storm, the buildings were not empty, as the Red Cross set up shelters at three high schools in the county, including Norristown Area High School that were open to “anyone that needs it,” said shelter manager Dale Wilson at the time. Ultimately, 34 people from the area were displaced by the storm.

After the storm passed through, workers began to clear debris from the roadways and work to restore power to those that lost it because of the storm. Seven days after the storm, there were still approximately 3,000 customers in Montgomery County without power, and the traffic light at the intersection of Markley Street and Johnson Highway in Norristown was still not functioning.

In addition to the catastrophic loss of power, the storm caused the cancelation of many local events scheduled in the area, most notably the celebration of Halloween for many local municipalities. Most areas only delayed the festivities for a day or two until the weekend, and despite concerns to the contrary, the storm did not interfere with the election Nov. 6.

If one positive could be taken away from the devastation, it was that members of local communities rallied around one another to ensure that everyone was safe and cared for, not just locally but in parts of New York and New Jersey, as well.

In the middle of November, Lt. Douglas Drake Sr. of the Worcester Volunteer Fire Department organized a relief drive to provide food, clothing, water and other essentials to the people of Brigantine, N.J., who still needed assistance.

“My family actually has a house down there and our home was spared any damage, but seeing the devastation, we felt, as a family and a fire department, we should do something to help,” Drake said.

While Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Northeast, it also became a rallying cry for thousands of people who would not let the storm wash away optimism and hope in people.